Npapi plugins in firefox java

Firefox NPAPI Java Plugin support and Flash support – part 2

Although I already published one article about NPAPI support and Firefox, it is not valid now, as all major web browsers are stop supporting add-ons like Java, Flash and Silverlight in recent versions.

Mozilla Firefox in the next version 57, will have no add-ons at all, while the Microsoft Edge from first release has no add-ins capability.

To summarize, with new releases of the most popular web browsers, it becomes even more difficult to run applications that still requires popular Add-ins like Adobe Flash and Java.

Oracle users are definitely affected, as there are many Oracle Forms applications around.

Although Oracle recommends to use Oracle ADF for a new apps, it will take a years (or even decade) till all Oracle Forms apps will be replaced/upgraded with a newer technology.

Oracle Retail is one such example, where the central module – RMS (Retail Merchandising System) along with a couple of smaller modules (ReSA – Sales Audit and RTM) are, even in the latest releases, still created using Oracle Forms technology.

Oracle Retail 16 is the first release that fully replace Oracle Forms.

As Oracle Retail is one of the most complex SW around, it will take a years till all clients will upgrade it to use ADF instead of Oracle Forms.

Adobe Flash is in extensive use by Oracle, as Oracle EM (Enterprise Manager) and many monitoring packages are based on it.

To conclude, many users will still need to use Java and Flash plugins for many years.

Even some of users will need it to run online banking software, as Java plugins will be required for pairing USB stick.

If you are running Firefox web browser, instead to use the latest version (which is at time of writing this article version 56.0), you can install and use the latest Firefox ESR 52.8.0 where you can still user Java Plug-in, as that is the last version where you can still run popular plugins.

Unfortunately, official support for 52.8.0 ESR will expire by the June 2018.

For that reason, you cannot rely on Firefox ESR as a long term solution.

Other option is to use Internet Explorer 11 if you need to have Java/Flash or Silverlight at your disposal.

There are two main disadvantages of using Internet Explorer:

Microsoft has already released a new web browser (Edge which is default option from Windows 10), where plugin support is disabled (meaning there are no more Java/Flash/Silverlight inside the browser), and Edge will be the only browser Microsoft will continue to develop/support.

Internet Explorer, on the other hand, will continue to receive only critical security patches, but no new functionality will be developed for that browser.

Internet Explorer is bind to Windows OS. Linux and MacOS users cannot use it.

As Windows users still have some time in front to use popular plugins, situation with other OS users are not so bright.

Thanks to the Pale Moon web browser, situation is better then most of people think.

What is Pale Moon web browser?

In Wikipedia you can find their motto: “Your browser, Your way.”

Pale Moon is fork of well known Mozilla Firefox web browser, but with a few crucial differences.

One of them is add-on capability, which Firefox will remove entirely in the next release (57).

You may also notice old-fashion, classical, adjustable user interface.

Although with very low market share, this browser has several advantages in case, for some reason, you need to use Java or Flash Add-ons.

Browser support Linux, Windows and unofficially MacOS platform.

Why I recommend Pale Moon browser?

It has his own profile directory.

If you click on Help —> Troubleshooting Information and then click on button Profile directory, your file manager will opens at the following direcotry:

/home/USERNAME/.moonchild productions/pale moon/generic_alphanumeric.default/

This is a good news, as you can run Firefox and Pale Moon side by side, as there are no influence between them (separate profile directory under the user HOME).

If you are running 64bit Linux, your Firefox library file are probably in (for Red Hat branch of Linux OS):

I assume you already have: Oracle JDK installed. If not, install the latest Oracle JDK.

As Pale Moon uses 32bit libraries (which is actually a good news, as your add-ins will be separated from the Mozilla libraries), you need to create the following directory (as a root user):

mkdir -p /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins

and to create the following soft links (you should change path and Java version name to match with version that you have installed):

ln -s /usr/java/jdk1.8.0_144/jre/lib/amd64/libnpjp2.so libjavaplugin.so

ln -s /usr/java/jdk1.8.0_144/jre/lib/amd64libnpjp2.so libjavaplugin.so.x86_64

ln -s /usr/lib64/flash-plugin/libflashplayer.so libflashplayer.so

When you list directory, you should see the following files:

Now Flash and Java plug-ins should be visible in your Pale Moon web browser.

To conclude, with Pale Moon you’ll get both: updated web browser that includes new features, but at the same time, you still have supported technologies that you need.

I expect that users will still have several browsers installed, one for general surfing like any from major ones like Firefox/Chrome/Internet Explorer/Edge, while Pale Moon (or Internet Explorer) will be use to run apps that require Java/Flash functionality.

Comments

Windows 10 64 bit, Forms&Rep 11.1.2.2.0 64 bit — IE 11 works, both Firefox ESR 52.8.1 32bit and Pale Moon portable 28.1.1 show 2 plugins but they do not work. If I try to install plugin for C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jdk1.8.0_92\jre\bin\plugin2\npjp2.dll they ask for .xpi or .jar.

I forgot to say IE11 works ok with C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.8.0_181\bin\ssv.dll and C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.8.0_181\bin\jp2ssv.dll Firefox and Pale Moon have activated plugins which do not work: C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre1.8.0_181\bin\plugin2\npjp2.dll and C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre1.8.0_181\bin\dtplugin\npdeployJava1.dll

Regarding Firefox, I have also tried with 52.8 ESR to run Forms but with no success. With Pale Moon 27.7.2 I have no issue to run Java Plug-in (11.162.2 version) on Linux. I didn’t test the 28.1.1 version of Pale Moon yet, but according to release doc: https://www.palemoon.org/releasenotes.shtml you should be able to run Forms/Reports as NPAPI is still supported. Anyway, for MS Windows users I recommend to use IE 11 as it’s fully supported by Microsoft, while Pale Moon is the only option for Linux/MacOS users.

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How To Re-Enable NPAPI Plugin Support (i.e. Java) in Firefox 52

Among the most significant change in the release is the decision to disable support for all NPAPI plugins bar Adobe Flash by default.

This is a good move in the round as NPAPI is a terribly outdated technology (over 20 years old, in fact). Whatever bonuses these plugins, Flash, Silverlight and Java among them, offered have been long since outweighed by the inherent security flaws manipulated to malicious ends.

Google Chrome ditched NPAPI support back in 2014 (and the version of Flash that ships pre-bundled uses the newer PPAPI tech).

But it is in Firefox 52, with Mozilla’s first step towards total removal of the technology from its browser, that is likely to impact Linux users the most.

Renable NPAPI Plugin Support in Firefox 52

If there’s a particular NPAPI plugin that you rely on there is (for now) a way to override Firefox defaults and re-enable NPAPI support.

Reader Grof has all the details.

“This is important, because some websites are still using Java plug-ins, like for example our government site for signing documents. You can’t work with government if no Java plugin is present,” he explains.

“But there is a way to enable Java, Silverlight etc NPAPI plugins in Firefox 52 using an about:config setting. Add new Boolean string «plugin.load_flash_only» and set it to false. Then restart the browser.”

That’s it; assuming your NPAPI plugins are installed correctly they should work as before.

It’s a Short Term Solution

In Firefox 53, Mozilla will remove this workaround. Consider this a short-term, stop gap solution. If you think you’ll need a little longer to transition away from such plugins you should download Firefox ESR (Extended Support Release), where NPAPI plugins will continue to work for another year.

Home / How To / How To Re-Enable NPAPI Plugin Support (i.e. Java) in Firefox 52

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How to use Java and other NPAPI plugins in Firefox

Mozilla decided to stop supporting NPAPI plugins for Firefox browser two years ago. NPAPI plugins are binary components integrated to the browser. Some well known NPAPI plugins are Flash, Java, and the GNOME Shell web extension.

The stock Firefox 52 browser disables these components. The exception is Flash, but Firefox will remove its support in the future, too. Fortunately, Fedora users still have options to bypass that plugin ban.

Enable plugins in Fedora Firefox browser

This may be the easiest choice for now. Firefox 52 allows you to override the plugin block using a preference setting in about:config. In Firefox, enter about:config in the location bar, and confirm the warning dialog. Then right click anywhere on the option list and add a new Boolean option named plugin.load_flash_only and set it to false.

Be aware this entry could be removed anytime without further warning, and is strictly unofficial.

Install Firefox 52 ESR

This is the official to run NPAPI plugins by Firefox now. However, at the end of this year Firefox 52 ESR (Extended Support Release) is planned to be discontinued.

The Firefox 52 ESR binary package is provided from Mozilla site. Download and unpack the tar archive somewhere in your home directory and launch the browser. You can then register it as a default browser. It also updates itself automatically when a new release is available.

You can have more than one browser installed. To choose the default in Fedora Workstation, go to the Settings control panel, and select Details, Default Applications.

Use dedicated browser for plugins only

This will be the final option when Firefox 52 ESR reaches its end of life. You can still use an old and unsupported browser, but it may contain flaws and vulnerabilities which won’t be fixed. A typical use case may be an internal system which needs a Java plugin but is otherwise secured. Never use an old browser for public web pages, since the browser may have known, exploitable flaws.

You can use a different browser profile for such a dedicated browser. Open the Terminal app, change directory to the old browser, and run this command:

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